Critical Thinking: Some help with those 'Brick Walls'

Some of those Brick Walls we all have may be self made! We've all made comments like: 'that can't be true'; this or that source is no good for me; I'm sure this isn't correct. Well, can you be sure?

Prompted by looking at a borrowed copy of Writing magazine I though we might apply some of the skills of 'Critical Thinking' in order to break down those walls. Its successfully used by the military and in education.

The convenience and comprehensiveness of Find My Past and Ancestor in particular are in danger of making us accepting and lazy in our research. When many of us started our research, we were questioning and even sceptical of our sources. Now we hear of folk's research getting back to the 1600s with little effort.

‘Who Do You Think You Are’ didn't and doesn't help. Giving the impression that research just means a visit to an archive or library, where experts working for you will fill your Family Tree in a couple of hours and that because information found on the internet, must be true. All this compounds the Brick Wall and providing the bricks for it.

‘Critical Thinking’ provides a way of reassessing the information you have, on the basis of, not just ‘What, Who & When’, but taking that information to the next level: ‘Why & How’ or even ‘What if’, ‘Why not’, ‘So what’.

Brick Wall demolitionA more detailed look at the process of Critical Thinking might help tackle that Wall. When you start, don’t make any assumptions and don’t say, I cant be bothered with this. Give it a try

What is the Brick Wall?Try to establish ‘exactly’ is the nature of the problem, Try and be as specific as possibleLack of access to a parish record or a missing personClarify the CauseWhat has brought this problem about? Base this only on the Facts you have not guesswork, supposition or conjectureNo record available; distance away from the parish; last known locations, Gather EvidenceThat’s ‘REAL’ evidence. New and Existing, both supporting and contradicting – What, When, Where, Why, How, What if, etc.Parish details, actual distances, records that are available from all sources. Seek help if necessary – Helping Hands or the LFHHS Forum or LFHHS Social MediaEvaluateBe sceptical and questioning. Screen through all the evidence to seek out a new perspective or fact. DON’T allow personal bias or influences. Weigh the evidence for its value in helping. No ‘scared cows’, dismiss anything that doesn’t help directly.Give yourself time to filter the information you have, even ranking what you have in terms of its value to demolishing the Wall. Talk with someone knowledgeable but not connected with your familyImplicationsConsider the implications/ consequences of what you find from the evaluation of the evidence you have and how that might affect the other information you have. Don’t be frightened to say ‘I got it wrong’.Look at associated members of the family and other relationships to see if there are implications. Make a JudgementDraw REASONED and rational conclusions. No guesswork.Based on the ‘reasoned’ work you’ve done. IntegrateIntegrate the new information into your research, making adjustments to the Family Tree accordingly.Celebrate demolition of your wall! If necessary, do it all again. Section needs formatting as below!

Process Stage

What is the Brick Wall?

Explanation

Try to establish ‘exactly’ is the nature of the problem, Try and be as specific as possible

Example

Lack of access to a parish record or a missing person

So, summing up, the advice is:

Be reflective

Be sceptical

Be wary of jumping to conclusions

Be aware of your own biases, preferences and 'intuition'

Be open minded

Interrogate and interpret and where possible corroborate information, don't just record it.